134 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 
was wounded, and had come down like a rocket on the 
spent quarry, which only just escapes by dropping into the 
lentils. 
They are not a vindictive bird, though they occasionally 
get wrathful with a trespasser near their nest. I once saw 
a pair go at an Z/anus and buffet him, in a wide open plain 
where there was no apparent excuse for such conduct. 
In the rocky gorge which leads to the tombs of the kings, 
the only birds we saw were a pair of Lanners, hermits in 
that unutterable solitude. When those renowned sepulchres 
held the monarchs for whom they were made and painted, 
to killa Lanner was a crime which could only be atoned 
for by death; but although on the present occasion 
Mr. T. B. Hughes and I had no compunction, the birds 
evidently remembered their sacred character and refused to 
come within range. 
On an island in Birket-El-Kairoun I found the only nest 
which was accessible on a projecting rock. Never having 
had much experience in Falcons’ nests, I was not a little 
amused at the collection of rags and bones. It only wanted 
a few ropes and bottles to be a regular marine store-shop. 
Clearly the prosperous couple had decided, when the duties 
of incubation were over, to convert it into a salon a manger. 
Not to mention the various rags, bones, and remains of 
aquatic birds, there were about two score fish, which, before 
they were picked, weighed I should say in the aggregate 
25 lbs., of the same species I believe as I had seen basking 
on the water. I had no idea before that they were piscivor- 
ous. There was no mistake about the ownership of the 
nest, for I shot one of the Falcons, nor was this an act of 
cruelty, for they only had one egg, and that was empty and 
broken. It seemed to agree fairly with the figure in the 
“Ibis” (1864, p. 183, fig. 1). I see from my note-book that 
in Upper Egypt I also shot four. I cannot detail the cir- 
cumstances attending the capture of each, but I have a 
